


Nightblindness

by newbatgirl



Series: Two of Us [6]
Category: Smallville
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-24
Updated: 2010-10-25
Packaged: 2017-10-12 21:03:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/129043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbatgirl/pseuds/newbatgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU "Two of Us" Universe. Bruce reconsiders. (Set yet another six months after "Beautiful Side of Somewhere."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Prologue  
**  
 _Gotham City...Rooftop of Gotham City Police Headquarters  
_  
“---broken wrist, four broken ribs, multiple contusions, and punctured lung,” Commissioner Jim Gordon read from a clipboard in the dim light of the batsignal, then raised his eyes to the caped figure a few feet away. “If this was you holding back...”

“I don't have to explain myself. He's alive, unlike the three people he sprayed with that gas,” Batman growled back. 

“Actually, these days, you do have to explain yourself. To me. Because I then have to explain this department's relationship with you to the Mayor, the Governor, and every other politician and bureaucrat getting heat for this from the media. The media is hinting...no saying flat out that you're escalating. That you're getting too violent to be trusted. Putting someone in intensive care, even if it is the Joker, feeds right into their agenda.”

“Their agenda is seriously skewed if they focus on that and not the people he  _killed_.”

“Apologies for the pun, Batman, but we all have to play the cards we're dealt, including you.”

Batman clenched his jaw in realization. “It's not just the media.  _You_ think I'm too violent.”

“I think you've had a Hell of a year. I think that despite your best efforts to make everyone else think otherwise, you are human. You've got a lot built up and it's coming out.” He waved the clipboard. “It's coming out here. Jesus, all we need is one of these thugs to die on us before we can take 'em in. Do you have any idea what would happen then?”

“What do you want me to do? They're killing people out there! This isn't a movie, Jim. When people die, they die!”

“Exactly, and unfair as it is, no matter how many lives you save, one dead perp and this is over. Not just for you but for everyone who's supported you. Get that through your head!” Jim shouted back.

Batman didn't reply. Jim was right. It wasn't fair and it didn't make sense, not after everything he did every night to save this city...

“What do you want me to do?”

“Take a break. Get out of the city for while. Work out whatever it is you need to work out. I don't care how, just do it.”

“I can't leave this city.”

“The fine men and woman of Gotham City Police Department can manage without you for a few days,” Jim said icily, then added, “I'll turn on the signal. People won't know you're gone. You need to do this.”

“Is this an order?” Batman, his gruff voice laced with sarcasm.

“No, it's advice. From a friend. If you stay on this road you're on, you're going to put me in a position where I can't defend you. Is that what you want?”

Jim reached over and threw the switch on the batsignal. It went dark.

 **End Prologue.**


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One  
**  
 _Gotham City...Batcave...Later that evening...  
_  
“Is that all he said?” Alfred asked.

“That's all he needed to say.” Bruce replied, from inside his costume room. “Batman isn't welcome in Gotham for the immediate future.” He emerged, pulling a black t-shirt over his head and heading towards the main computer console. “Apparently what the media thinks is more important than actually making a difference in this town.”

“That's one interpretation. The  _wrong_ one,” Alfred said pointedly.

“Excuse me?”

“Did it ever occur to you, sir, to take what Commissioner Gordon said at face value and actually take a break?”

“What do you mean 'take a break'?”

“I realize that when you say the word 'break', you are likely thinking of bones and teeth and such but I rather think that Commissioner Gordon was what referring to what we Brits call a 'holiday' and what you Americans call a 'vacation.'”

“I don't need sarcasm right now, Alfred, and I don't need a vacation.” 

“The Commissioner thinks otherwise...and I agree with him. I think that you need to leave Gotham for a time.”

Bruce sat down at his console. “What purpose would that possibly serve, other than leaving Gotham unprotected?”

“All due respect, sir, avoiding the possible scenario where Gotham needs protection from you,” Alfred replied with cold evenness.

Bruce's head whipped around to meet his eyes. Alfred looked unrepentant. “You, too? Is there anyone around here who doesn't think I'm a danger to society?”

“Shall I get Dr. Thompkins on the phone? Or Mr. Fox?”

“What do you expect me to do, Alfred?”

“Do something other than acting like you're the only person in the entire world with this kind of responsibility.”

“I don't know what you mean,” Bruce said.

“You know precisely what I mean.” He pointed one elegant hand towards the console. “You've got that machine filled with photos and news stories about that group, that League. Did you ever think that they could help you?”

“Help me do what?”

“Do all of...this.”

Bruce didn't respond and he heard Alfred sigh heavily. “There isn't anything else I can say if you won't listen. Good night, sir.”

Alfred disappeared up the dark staircase that led back to the Manor. Bruce set about checking the security cameras on the property and running down the police reports from the night. All familiar work that he could do almost without thinking. The minutes passed and his mind wandered. He punched a few keys and some of the files Alfred mentioned appeared on one of his larger screens. Names, faces, aliases. 

They were working out of Star City now. Had been for several months. They seemed active. Bruce sent them information and tech every once and a while but limited the personal contact. 

They had very different agendas. Very little in common. 

It would be a waste of time. 

*****  
 _Queen residence...outside Star City...Late evening...  
_  
 _“...I gave it to you...”_

“No you didn't!”

“Yes I did, in the van, after we neutralized the security booth.”

“You must have dropped it, because I don't have it.”

Chloe rubbed at her temples and interrupted the argument that AC and Bart were having.

“Boys, I don't care which of you had it or didn't have it or who gave it to whom. That scanner is a prototype and I need it back. I suggest that you find it before our meeting or you'll both have to deal with me, am I clear?”

 _“Clear, Tower.” “Gotcha.”  
_  
“Watchtower out.” Chloe pulled off her comm, dropped it on the desk, and covered her face with her hands. 

She felt a warm hand on her back and she smiled. 

“Hey, you. Something wrong?” Oliver asked.

She dropped her hands and leaned up to kiss Oliver's cheek, still damp from his post-patrol shower. “Hey, you're home early. Slow night?”

“Carter took the last leg. He's in a mood. Wanted to fly it off. What's up?”

“Oh nothing, except the boys seem to have misplaced the $5,000 access panel scrambler prototype we got from R & D.”

“Ahh, that sucks.”

“Yeah, I had them make it water resistant, heat-resistant, and pressure resistant to lower Earth orbit. I should have had them make it Bart and AC-resistant!”

Oliver chuckled. “They'll find it. They'll be afraid to face you if they don't. Come on, let's go to the bedroom. I'll rub your back.”

“You are a god among men.”

“You say this like it's new information.” 

She stood, and saw Oliver frown at her the short, green, stretchy chemise she wore. “What?”

“Didn't we discuss you talking on the comm while dressed like that?”

“Audio only, Ollie. Calm down.”

“I'm beginning to think you like talking to the team wearing next to nothing.” Oliver said suspiciously.

“Maybe I just like  _you_  watching me talk to the team wearing next to nothing,” Chloe corrected, tugging on his hand to lead him down the hallway from her home office to the master bedroom. “Now you said something about a backrub?”

“Least I could do, given the circumstances.”

Within minutes, they were stretched on their bed, Oliver seated against the pile of pillows, Chloe settled between his legs, facing away from him, so he could work out the nagging knots in her lower back through her nightgown.

“You'll never guess who called me tonight?” Oliver said in her ear.

“Ollie, if you told me that Abraham Lincoln called you, I'd believe you right now.”

“Backrub equals good?”

“Backrub equals very good. You have no idea how much I needed this. Who called?”

“Bruce.”

“Bruce Wayne?”

“Seriously, how many Bruces do we know? It's not that common of a name.”

Chloe ignored the quip. “What did he want?”

“Short version? Our address.”

“What?”

“He's coming to Star City.”

 **End Chapter.**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two  
**  
 _Queen residence...outside Star City...Late afternoon...Three Days Later...  
_  
Carter pulled the grate off of Oliver's new state-of-the-art grill with an alarming lack of finesse. “You can't just throw the coals in there like that. You need three-distinct temperature zones, don't you know that?”

Oliver blinked at him. “Seriously? Why would I know that?”

“Maybe because you bought a grill that costs more than my car?” Lois grumbled as she walked by, beer in hand.

“Well, I don't care how many temperature zones you have, as long as there's one of them is also a 'meat-free' zone. Chloe promised.” AC added.

Oliver stole a glance at his wife, who was currently stretched on on one of the chaises on their patio with her tablet computer and offering him absolutely no assistance.

Sighing, Oliver handed the large spatula to AC and the large grilling fork to Carter. “Here you go, work this out amongst yourselves. As long as you two don't burn down my house and there's food to eat in a hour, I really don't care.”

Lois stretched out on the chaise next to Chloe. “You're seriously letting them take over? On that rocket ship you call a grill?”

Oliver shrugged. “Why not? I can delegate. I'm not the control freak in this family.”

Chloe looked up from her tablet. “I am not a control freak.”

“Your argument would be much more convincing if you put down the computer and took the comm out of your ear, Sidekick.” 

Chloe only rolled her eyes at him. “I'm talking to Clark. He's going to be late.”

“You needed the comm to tell you that?” Lois asked.

“There's a tornado near Topeka.” 

That got Lois' attention. “How bad?”

“Looks like lots of damage. No fatalities reported yet.”

Oliver scanned the yard. Bart, Dinah, and Victor were erecting a volleyball net while J'onn looked on. “Does he need help? Should we send Bart or J'onn?” 

Chloe shook her head. “No, Clark says it's under control. He's just going to help out there until the Red Cross arrives. They're on their way.”

Oliver nodded, then held out his hand. “OK, good, then hand them over.”

“Hand what over?”

“Your computer, your comm, and every other electronic device you have on your person. No more League business until after dinner.”

“Fine.” she handed him her comm and tablet but the acquiescence made him suspicious. 

“That was way too easy. I'm going to need to frisk you.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Ugh, you guys are gross. I'm going to play volleyball before you make me retch.” Lois grumbled, rising from her chair.

“This from the woman who insisted on drilling me for details about our sex life,” Chloe called after her.

“Yeah, but that was before you were  _married_. Now it's just creepy.”

Oliver laughed. He wondered what his cousin-in-law would do if she knew that Clark had asked him for help choosing diamonds the week before. He shifted his focus back to Chloe. 

“OK, stand up. Let me frisk you. You've got another device hidden on you and I'm going to find it.”

Something beeped and Chloe turned pink. With a sigh, she reached into her cleavage and extracted a small cell phone and checked the display. “It's the security booth. They just sent Bruce through.” He held out his hand for the phone and she tilted her head to one side. “How about I just put it back where it was so you can find it later?”

“Evil woman.”

“So that's a yes?”

“That would be a big yes.”

Oliver headed through the open French doors, through the kitchen, towards the front of the house, dropping off her tablet and comm along the way. 

Renovating his parents' home had been expensive and had taken months but it had been worth it. It was now brighter, warmer, and more suited to his and Chloe's personalities. Though the official League operational headquarters were near downtown Star City, the house was its second home. Hardly a weekend passed without a few members of the team crashing in the guest rooms upstairs. Moreover appealing to him than the décor, however, was the security. 

The house was in a tightly gated community and protected by the most advanced security system that money could buy and that Chloe and Victor could control. Victor liked to joke that he and Chloe would know if a squirrel built a storehouse of nuts anywhere on the Queen property. Oliver didn't care about squirrels but he did care about Lex Luthor. He had no doubt that Lex was far from over his obsession with Chloe's powers. They had done everything they could to keep Chloe out of the spotlight for the last six months but they couldn't hide her forever. 

The doorbell rang and since Oliver was already at the door, when he opened it instantly, the look of surprise on Bruce Wayne's face was genuine. 

“ _Two_ security checkpoints, Oliver?” Bruce asked, by way of greeting. “They even scanned the beer.”

Oliver shrugged and gestured for him to come in. “I've got a lot to protect these days.”

“Luthor?”

“Among other things.” He took the case of Guinness from Bruce's hands. He wondered briefly if he hadn't told Bruce beforehand that they were having a cookout, whether the other man would have shown up in full Batman regalia. Instead, he looked almost human, in a gray crew-neck t-shirt and black shorts. His slurring, 'playboy' voice was gone too, replaced by a deeper, even tone that was closer to what Oliver knew has his 'Batman' voice.

“I have to wonder about a crime-fighting organization for which the price of admission is a case of beer,” Bruce told him.

“The beer is for dinner. The meeting is after. So, tell me, are you serious this time?”

“I'm here to observe,” Bruce answered cannily.

“You're annoying. Can't you just answer a question?”

“I just did.”

Oliver noted the bouquet of white tulips in Bruce's other hand. “That's very nice of you, Bruce, but I would have been fine with more beer.”

“They're for your wife, dumbass. I'm actually trying to start off better with her this time.”

“Lucky guess on the flower or your infamous detective work?”

“I may or may not have charmed it out of your assistant.”

“Crap, now she thinks you're hitting on my wife.”

“Works for me,” Bruce replied. Oliver was a little annoyed at Chloe being used to solidify Bruce's public persona but he decided to let it go for now.

“C'mon, everyone's in the back.”

He could see Bruce looking around the house as he led him to the kitchen first, to put the beer on the counter for when they needed it. 

“You renovated,” Bruce remarked, looking around. “A lot.”

“Yeah, it took a while but we're done now. We had to get the house ready and we only had a few months to do it. It was better to do it now than later.”

“Ready for what? Why the rush?” Bruce asked so frankly that Oliver turned to face him. 

“You're kidding, right?”

“Kidding about what?”

Oliver began to laugh. “You seriously don't know?” They had hoped to keep things secret from Luthor but it never occurred to them that they'd be able to hide it from Bruce as well.

“Oliver, I have no idea what you're talking about and you're starting to tick me off.”

“Come with me and bring the flowers.”

Oliver led Bruce to the patio. The volleyball game was now underway, with Dinah and Victor facing off against Lois and Bart. From the looks of things, Lois and Bart were not above blatant cheating. Carter and AC had come to some kind of detente about cooking zones on the grill and were totally focused on the task. Chloe was still on the chaise but she was now sitting up facing J'onn, who was seated on the chaise next to her, his hand on her swollen belly. He knew the moment Bruce spotted her, in all her resplendent, seven months pregnant, glory.

“Something you forgot to tell me, Oliver?”

“Thought you knew.” 

“You guys have been virtually hidden out here for months, how would I find out?” Bruce countered.

“Some detective you are.” 

Oliver watched the understanding flicker on Bruce's face. “Luthor,” he said again.

Oliver nodded. “The healing thing. He knows about it and he's obsessed with her.”

“Can she still do it? The healing?”

“Not since she got pregnant but Luthor doesn't know that. And we do think the power will come back.”

Bruce was silent for a moment, then frowned. “Your assistant thinks I'm hitting on a pregnant woman.”

“Next time, do your research. And don't hit on my wife. That's a rule, write it down."

Chloe spotted them and rose from the chaise, with a little help from J'onn. She was still remarkably mobile for a small woman seven months pregnant with twins. Each day, however, it got harder for her to get out of chairs on her own. She got frustrated at her limitations and sometimes the back pain was so bad, Oliver could see tears in her eyes though she stubbornly refused to complain.

She padded over to them, her loose cotton sandals hardly making a noise on the patio. Shoes were another thing that gave her trouble these days. Both fitting into them and getting them on and off.

Oliver grinned at her attire. Loose, white linen shorts that showed off that her legs were still among her best assets and a snug pink maternity t-shirt that had the words _“I grow people, what's your superpower?”_  printed across her ample bustline. Dinah had found it on her last trip and bought Chloe one in every color.

Chloe gave Bruce one of her enigmatic smiles. “Those for me?”

Bruce handed her the flowers. “Yes, they are. Nice shirt.”

“Thanks.”

“You two didn't waste any time, did you?”

“We did actually, for a while there, but now we're making up for it.” She looked Bruce up and down, then turned to Oliver. “I owe you five bucks.”

“Yup.” Oliver replied. “Pay up.”

“Five bucks for what?” Bruce wanted to know.

“I was sure you'd wear the cape.”

*****  
Chloe went back into the house to out the flowers in water and wasn't surprised when Bruce followed her rather than be left on his own among strangers. The volleyball game had grown contentious and Victor and Dinah had demanded that Oliver and J'onn step in to referee to quell to Bart and Lois' rampant cheating.

Chloe found a crystal vase in the right size and filled it with water while Bruce slid his large frame onto a counter stool across from her. 

“So...are you serious this time?”

“Your husband asked me that. By the way, I guess my wedding invitation got lost in the mail?”

“Must have. So what did you say to him?”

“I said that I was here to observe.”

“That's not an answer.”

“He didn't think so either.”

“Did you come all this way to jerk us around? Because we have no time for that. We have even less time for that than before.”

“I wouldn't do that.”

“So you are serious.”

“Let's just say that I'm more open to the idea than I was before.”

“Is that because they basically ran you out of Gotham?”

Bruce's face hardened. “That's not true.”

“It is true, I checked into it. The media was all over Batman. You got your pointy ears the Hell outta Dodge, don't deny it.” Chloe dropped the flowers into the vase and smirked at the look he gave her. “C'mon, you call Ollie out of the blue and I'm not supposed to be suspicious?”

“It's not out of the blue. I've been in touch. I said I would be.”

“You sent us kevlar samples – thanks for those by the the way, they were awesome – and the occasional lead on Luthor. Then all of a sudden, you're coming to town for some R and R? Yeah, I'm not stupid, you don't  _do_ R and R.”

“According to everyone I work with, that's part of the problem.”

Chloe gaped at him. “Are you actually being honest with me?”

“Don't sound so surprised. I was honest with you the last time.”

Chloe nodded. “You're right, you were. It shocked the Hell out of us.”

“It shocked the Hell out of me.”

They listened to the sounds from outside for a while, saying nothing. Finally Chloe spoke.

“So you are serious this time,” she said again. "Because from the sounds of things, you should be."

Bruce frowned and looked at her. “Exactly how pregnant are you?”

“Why?”

“Well, I'm not expert on this by any means but you're not a large woman and that's a lot of baby. At what point does the you-to-baby-ratio start to become a concern?” 

His tone was so starkly serious that Chloe laughed out loud, and was more than a little stunned that Bruce had caused it. “Want to know a secret?” she asked him when she could speak again.

Bruce flashed a bit of his playboy face at her “Who can resist a line like that? What?”

“Twins.”

His eyes widened in genuine surprise. “You're kidding?"

She shook her head.  "Nope, two of them. We checked. A bunch of times."

"And you've kept  _that_ a secret?”

“Well, Ollie and I know, of course. But we haven't told anyone else. I think J'onn suspects, though. He was looking at me funny when he was feeling them kick earlier. I think he felt that there are two separate consciousnesses in there. We're going to tell everyone tonight, after the meeting.”

“Twins. That's...intimidating.”

Chloe shrugged. She was used to the idea by now. She was still nervous but not quite as scared. “I've got a pretty awesome support structure here, in case you hadn't noticed.”

Bruce looked out towards the patio. “Why tell me first? Why not wait until after dinner?”

Chloe's memory flashed to the older version of Batman, she had met, first in the Clocktower, then again on the station, introducing her and Oliver to their children. “I owe you,” she said simply.

“For what?”

“You'll see.” She picked up the vase and headed back out the patio. “Come on, we better introduce you so you don't stand around glaring at everyone all night.”

*****  
Dinner was loud. That was Bruce's overwhelming impression. Gotham City on New Year's Eve kind of loud. They ate around a large table on the patio that was so crowded with food and drinks that he suspected it was reinforced so as not to collapse. 

Chloe introduced him as simply Bruce, and gave no further explanation. No one seemed very surprised or disturbed by his presence which made him wonder what had been said  _before_ he arrived. She introduced the others by their real names, not the code names he already knew. 

Bart, the young speedster, ate a disturbing amount of food for a human. In fact, Bruce thought he ate a disturbing amount of food for a great white shark but Oliver assured him that it was normal given his metabolism. Bart also spent the better part of the meal, when his mouth wasn't full, talking to Chloe's belly, trying to convince the child that he would be his or her favorite “uncle.” 

Arthur, who insisted that Bruce call him AC, ate two soy burgers, a pile of veggie kebabs, frowned at Bart's plate but seemed to have no ethical problems with Guinness. He bragged that the fact that Chloe had been unable to even look at fish or seafood for the first four months of her pregnancy was a sign of his superior influence over the unborn Queen child. 

Carter, the large man who Bruce had noticed at the grill with AC earlier, seemed very concerned with the doneness of everyone's burgers until Oliver yelled at him to “sit the Hell down, Big Bird, it's fine!” Carter didn't talk a lot but when he did, he seemed to take distinct pleasure in mocking Oliver. 

Victor, seated at Bruce's left, wanted very much to know more about the kind of tech the Batmobile contained. Most troubling, he seemed to know an awful lot already, and when Bruce looked to Chloe for an explanation, she only shrugged.

Lois, the dark-haired woman Chloe introduced as her cousin and not an official member of the team, seemed to fit right in nevertheless. She was blunt and cursed like a sailor until Chloe warned her to ease up, rubbing her belly. In between teasing the various team members, Lois also seemed to have a never-ending list of baby-names that she felt passionately about and that she insisted Chloe and Oliver could not “even think about naming the child anything else.” Bruce noted that all the names were female. 

Bruce also observed J'onn's interaction with the others carefully but tried to avoid direct contact himself. He knew the man had some kind of telepathy and that made him cautious. The others didn't seem to be bothered by it, they talked and joked with him easily. J'onn was, perhaps, slower to laugh and smile than the others, but he seemed well at ease with them.

When Bruce rose, halfway through the meal, to get another drink from the side table, J'onn appeared at his side. “I understand your concerns. Everyone has them, at first. But you should know that I respect your privacy. I respect everyone's privacy.” He said nothing else and returned to his seat. Bruce didn't know if he felt better or not. When he returned to his seat, Dinah, who was seated on his right, shot him a look as he slid another beer in front of her. He had noticed that hers was empty. 

“Thanks.” She eyed his soda. “You don't drink?”

Bruce looked at the can he had grabbed for himself as if seeing it for the first time. “Habit. I'm used to having somewhere to be after dinner.”

Dinah nodded in understanding and poured half her beer into a glass. She slid it towards him. “Here, I'm guessing you need this at least as much as I do.”

There was a faint beeping noise and everyone at the table checked their pockets only to realize it wasn't them. Bruce watched as Oliver sent Chloe a censorious look. She pulled a small cell phone out of her shirt. After a look at the display and the press of a few buttons, she looked up at the others sheepishly. “It's Clark. He set off one of the perimeter alarms when he landed.”

As Chloe tucked the phone away again, Bart leaned back in his deck chair and leered at her ample bustline. “Hey, Chloe-licious, what else you got in there?”

“Breast milk,” she answered archly and the back of Bart's chair crashed to the stone patio.

Victor and AC reached across the table to high-five each other while the others howled with laughter. Lois claimed to have snorted beer out of her nose and grabbed for napkins. 

Oliver leaned over to help Bart to his feet, laughing when he saw that the younger man's face was a red as his shirt. “And you're officially done calling her that, Bart.” 

Amid the laughter, Bruce noticed a figure approaching from the now darkened yard. His body tensed automatically and Dinah nudged his forearm. “Easy, it's only Clark.”

He relaxed, feeling sheepish but when he turned to Dinah she nodded. “I know, it's hard to turn off but one thing you have to know about this place: no one, not even a meta, is getting in unannounced.”

By this time, the dark figure was close enough for Bruce to see that it was a very tall, dark haired man, in a blue t-shirt and jeans. Kent. Metropolis' hero. He leaned down to kiss Lois' cheek before greeting the others. “Hey guys, sorry I'm late.” He leaned down to kiss Chloe's cheek as well and he gave her belly a quick rub before sinking into a chair next to Lois. 

“How'd it go?” Oliver asked, handing Clark a plate.

“No fatalities. Lot of damage, though. The Red Cross is there now. They're moving people into shelters and---” As he spoke, Clark's eyes moved around the table to meet everyone's interested gaze. He stopped when he reached Bruce. His eyes swung back to Oliver. “Who's that?”

The others laughed. “That's Bruce.” Oliver answered.

“Oh.” Clark paused. “Bruce who?”

“Bruce Wayne. From  _Gotham_ ,” Chloe said significantly.

Clark's eyes open wider in understanding. “Oh. Gotcha.” He turned to Bruce. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

Clark looked down at his plate then up at Chloe again. “Why is he here?” 

“Feel free to address him directly, Clark. He's house-trained and everything.” Chloe teased.

Oliver cut in. “Bruce is here for the meeting.” 

Clark seemed to accept that explanation and went back to eating. Bruce noticed that Lois kept her hand on his back as he did so and whispered to him every once and a while. She was calmer and quieter now that he was here, which Bruce found interesting. 

The table chatter escalated again with the favorite topic seeming to be past missions. Suddenly the debate became somewhat heated.

“Do it!” Chloe said, clapping her hands.

“No, please...don't. It's going to be in my head all night.” Victor groaned.

“I think it's funny.” Carter said in agreement. “They've gotten pretty good at it.”

“It's hilarious, do it!” Lois chimed in. “They haven't done it since Christmas!”

“I haven't heard it in ages. Do it!” Dinah added.

AC stood up. “I'm game if you are, Bart.”

Oliver groaned. “I'm with Vic, this is going to be in my head for the rest of the week.”

Bruce leaned towards Dinah and whispered. “What are they talking about?”

“Who's on First!” Dinah answered excitedly.

“What?”

“The old Abbott and Costello routine,” Victor clarified. “They memorized it.”

“Why?”

“That's what I said!” 

“Tension breaker,” AC answered, moving to the head of the table.

J'onn leaned back in his chair. “I agree, I actually find it very relaxing.”

Victor shook his head. “Germany. We were on a mission there about a year ago.”

“Two,” Oliver corrected, his arm around Chloe's shoulders.

“Right, two. Something got screwed up and we had a lot of downtime, which I spent downloading and compiling the data we needed to finish and these two spent watching YouTube. They memorized Who's on First and nearly drove me insane reciting it.  _Please_ don't do it!”

“Pregnant card!” Chloe shouted. “I'm playing it! Take it away, boys!”

Victor groaned. “It is so not fair that she gets to do that.”

Lois stuck her tongue at him, “Get some ovaries and uterus and you can do it too.”

Clark frowned and put down his hamburger.

Bart took a swig from his beer and stood. “Well, if she's going to insist...who I am to refuse the lady?” With a comical kiss to Chloe's hand, Bart joined AC at the head of the table.

Oliver rose from his chair, “C'mon, Vic. We're outnumbered. Let's try to save our sanity by bringing out dessert.”

“Thank God.”

The two disappeared into the house just as Bart and AC started up.

Within minutes, those at the table were in fits of laughter. Bruce had to admit that Bart and AC were very good. He had seen the routine on TV a couple of times and found it mildly funny in an absurd way but Bart's Costello was so spot-on and silly, it was hard not to laugh out loud. AC's straight man Abbott lines were timed perfectly.

They were still in the middle of it when Oliver and and Victor returned carrying trays containing a large cheesecake, bowls of fruit, and cartons of ice cream, which they began to pass around.

 _Bart: Look, you gotta outfield?  
AC: Sure.  
Bart: The left fielder's name?  
AC: Why.  
Bart: I just thought I'd ask you.  
AC: Well, I just thought I'd tell ya.  
Bart: Then tell me who's playing left field.  
AC: Who's playing first.  
Bart: I'm not... stay out of the infield! I want to know what's the guy's name in left field?  
AC: No, What is on second.  
Bart: I'm not asking you who's on second.  
AC: Who's on first!  
Bart: I don't know.  
AC & Bart Together: Third base!_

By the time they reached the shortstop punchline, Chloe and Lois were wiping tears from their eyes and even Oliver and Victor had joined in on the laughter. Bart and AC bowed theatrically as everyone applauded. Bart rounded the table, kissing the hands of all three woman.

Bruce passed a slice of cake across the table to Carter. “Tell me the truth,” he asked the other man, “Do you people ever get around to actually having meetings?”

 **End Chapter.  
**  
Here's a [link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfmvkO5x6Ng&feature=related) to one of many YouTube videos of the Abbott and Costello Who's On First routine.   
My understanding is that they almost never did it the same way twice. 

Chloe's t-shirt exists. You can find it [here](http://www.thisnext.com/item/7F14C45A/C27CE11B/I-grow-people-whats-your).


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three  
**  
 _Queen residence...outside Star City...later that evening...  
_  
For Chloe, being pregnant wasn't bad...just exhausting. Sure, her back and feet hurt like Hell, she felt stretched in the oddest places, and at times she felt like she had her own personal climate zone, but it wasn't all the bad, given the reward at the end. She'd certainly been through worse. She missed coffee, though. Terribly. And wine. And watching everyone enjoy beer with their burgers while she had to make do with water and juice wasn't fun by any means.

There were some upsides to the process too. Playing the the pregnant card earlier was certainly one of them. Admittedly, though, she didn't need to do that very often because the people around her, even Lois, invariably gave in to what she wanted these days. The unlimited backrubs from Oliver were a definite plus. 

No, the worst parts were getting tired so easily, and not being able to move around like she usually did. There was a time that she could stand up throughout an entire meeting, walking around, handing out data, or sliding up on tables or desks to get everyone's attention. In some of their less serious meetings, one of the boys – usually Bart or AC – would hoist her up on their backs when her explanations got too long winded or jargon heavy and declare that they were going to help Watchtower “go find a point.”

These days, however, she was relegated to The Chair. It was a nice chair. A wonderful, oversized chair, covered with a the most comfortable fabric and cushions to be found anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. It was positioned in their enormous family room such that she could see everyone in the room, as well as virtually every entrance and window. There was a basket and small table next to her to hold her laptop, cell phone, and the remotes for all the screens she could need. 

She still felt benched.

“You haven't been benched,” Oliver told her, as he helped her sink into the chair. “You shouldn't be standing so much.”

“I feel like all I do is sit.”

“Are you tired?”

“Yes,” she admitted reluctantly.

“Then sit! I know you enjoy arguing with us but do you have to argue with your own body too?” Oliver handed her the tablet computer he'd confiscated earlier and kissed her forehead. “There you go, conquer the world.”

“From this chair?”

Victor plopped down onto a nearby sofa. “If anyone could do it, Tower...”

Bruce, AC, and Dinah filed in and took places on the various seats in the room. Chloe noticed that Bruce took the seat in the farthest corner of the room. She meant to call him on it but she was distracted when she spotted Bart waltzing in with the rest of the cheesecake in one hand and a fork in the other. 

“Hey, Bart! You know the rules!” she chided. 

“I'll be careful!” he protested but she glared at him and pointed one finger towards the kitchen. 

Sighing heavily he put the cake back in the kitchen and flopped onto the floor in front of Dinah. Dinah reached over and ruffled his hair. “Who needs parenting books when you've got Bart?” she mused to Chloe.

Oliver crossed his arms and frowned at the team members – Clark, Carter and J'onn – who were just straggling into the room. “Nice of you three to stop by, can we get started now?”

“Ease up, Green Bean, we were saving your wife's dishes from Lois. If we let her clean up by herself, you guys wouldn't have anything left,” Carter said.

Chloe's head shot up. “What did she break?”

“Nothing, thanks to Mr. Super-reflexes. She won't touch anything else. She got sidetracked by the last of the cheesecake.”

“Awww, man! Thanks a lot, Lois!” Bart shouted towards the kitchen.

Lois shouted something back but it seemed to be lost around what Chloe assumed was a mouthful of cheesecake. She also assumed it was pretty crass so she warned Lois, just in case. “Language!”

“Nothing important, just the  _world_ to save here!” Oliver interjected wearily.

When they finally got started, they moved through the agenda quite efficiently, probably because everyone was too tired and too full of food to put up much of a fight to Oliver's directives.

Recap of the last meeting. Budget. Weapons Report. Tech update. Mission Schedule.

When they got to the Mission Schedule, the real debate started. Not surprising, as it was typically a sticky point. They all had personal lives, some had separate civilian identities, some more demanding than others. Balancing those lives against the need to keep the League's mission moving forward was no easy feat. 

They argued, they laughed, they joked, they negotiated, they strategized, looked at the data, threw out some older pieces of information, double checked newer ones. Victor and Chloe defended some research, picked apart others.

Chloe noted that Bruce remained largely quiet through it all. Finally, after over an hour of debate, they had the missions mapped out for the next two months: targets, emergency and natural disaster coverage, dates, line-ups, back-ups. Dinah and Carter, the self appointed weapons experts, would devise the equipment lists later and submit them to Chloe. Oliver would take care of the budgets, Victor and J'onn would cover communications.

Though no one commented on it directly, there were extra backups in place for Chloe and Oliver leading up to her due date. At the next meeting, they'd need to work out the schedule for beyond that. They'd put it off long enough. And it was likely that the twins could come early. Bruce was right, Chloe's small frame could probably not handle carrying the babies to full-term. 

The were setting the time and date for their next meeting when Lois poked her head in the door. “You guys done yet?”

“Just about, why?” Oliver replied suspiciously.

Lois stepped the rest of the way into the room. “Baby pool time!” She held up a legal-sized piece of posterboard with a grid pattern marked on it. The squares were blocked off and colored in in various pastel shades.

Chloe took one look at the chart and closed her eyes. “I think the morning sickness is back.”

“Lois---” Oliver groaned. “What are you doing?”

“Look, the birth of my little niece or nephew is serious business. We're going to do this right.”

“First cousin, once removed,” Chloe corrected.

Lois waved her off. “Details. If Bart gets to be 'Uncle Bart,' I sure as Hell get to be 'Aunt Lois' considering I'm  _actually_ a blood relative.”

Dinah crossed her arms. “If she gets to be 'Aunt Lois', I get to be “Aunt Dinah', I've never been an aunt before and this is probably my only shot. Lois has an actual sister.”

Lois snorted. “Are you kidding? Lucy's not going to let me near any of her kids.”

Carter leaned closer to AC and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Can't imagine why.”

Oliver rubbed his eyes. “Lois, you do realize that when I said we were 'just about done' it meant we weren't actually done with the meeting?”

Lois ignored him and stood in the center of the room, holding up her chart so everyone could see.

“OK, everybody, it works like the a Superbowl pool, only for a birth. There are boxes for various combinations of relevant baby-related facts. Weight, gender, time of birth, length, etc. I even added hours of labor to mix things up a bit.”

Chloe felt her checks skipping pink and heading right to purple. “To mix things up a bit!!! Have you lost your mind? You want people to bet on how long I'm going to be in pain?

“Chloe, calm down,” Oliver warned.

“The boxes are $25 each or five for $100. I personally suggest buying a five pack to cover your bases and increase your chance of winning. So...who wants to go first? Don't wait too long, all the best boxes will be gone.” 

Victor leaned forward to look at the chart. “Are you sure you've covered the right number of combinations because I'm calculating in my head right now and this looks off to me.”

AC reached for his wallet. “How many squares do you have for a nine pound baby and larger? Can I reserve those now?”

All the eyes in the room swung to Chloe and there was silence for a moment.

“What are you all looking at?!” she demanded.

“That's not fair, he can't hog all the big baby squares. I want three of the ten pound boxes,” piped Bart.

Dinah elbowed Bruce. “Can you spot me some cash?”

Bruce looked at her in disbelief. “If you think I'm getting in the middle of this, you really should have skipped that last beer.”

“You are no fun at all.”

“Not the first time I've heard that.”

“Oliver, please do something,” Chloe said, through clenched teeth. “Preferably something involving a tranquilizer arrow.”

“Chloe, this is Lois!” Clark exclaimed.

“Fine. Use two!”

Oliver sighed and grabbed the chart out of Lois hand and held it high above his head so she could not reach it. “OK, I'll take that. Fun's over guys. There will be no baby pool of any kind. Put your money away.”

“Hey! I worked hard on that.” Lois complained, hopping to try and retrieve it.

“I don't care. Sit down!” Oliver commanded. When she ignored him, he repeated more firmly, “Sit down, Lois, You're upsetting Chloe and if you keep doing it, I'll throw you out of this house, blood relative or not!”

The room went silent and Lois frowned, but finally gave in and crossed the room to sit on Clark's knee. “I was just trying to have some fun with it,” she said grumpily.

Oliver tore the chart in half, then in half again. “If you guys would just let me finish, we could tell you what we've wanted to tell you for months now, and we won't need a damn baby pool.”

Carter's eyes widened. “You guys know what you're having?”

“Yes!” Oliver sighed. “We've known for a while.”

“So...? What is it?” Bart demanded. “A boy?”

Dinah clapped her hands. “A girl?”

Chloe giggled. “Yes.”

Oliver grinned at her and repeated “Yes.”

Everyone in the room – except Bruce and J'onn – stared blankly at them.

Victor groaned. “Oh no, we're playing Who's on First again!”

Chloe felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “My God, you guys are dense. We're having twins! A boy and a girl.”

The room, for lack of a better word, erupted. There was a red blur as Bart shot up to high five Oliver but the force knocked them both to the floor. AC and Victor spied them on the floor and exchanged a glance for a millisecond before jumping on top of them with a simultaneous shout of “Two babies! For the win!”

Lois and Dinah climbed over the men to reach Chloe and pull her out of her chair, alternately hugging her and rubbing her belly. They were both speaking at once and Chloe couldn't make out the words. She looked over at Oliver, in time to see him being pulled off the floor by Carter and then lifted off his feet in a crushing hug. The sight of her freakishly tall husband being thrown around like ragdoll made her laugh. J'onn was then by her side, giving her a fatherly kiss on her forehead and a knowing smile that confirmed her earlier thoughts that he had figured things out for himself.

Clark pulled her into a hug next, and when he stepped back, he had a shy look on his face. “Chlo, can I... Do you mind if I...look?”

Chloe looked at Oliver for confirmation. He had heard Clark's question and nodded. “Yeah, go ahead, Clark.”

Clark took a deep breath and stared at Chloe's belly. Chloe rested her hand just under her breasts nervously. She'd had several sonograms but somehow this felt different. Maybe because all their friends were there.

Then a grin spread across Clark's face and he looked up at her. “They're beautiful. They look like they're sleeping.”

Everyone cheered. 

Victor patted Oliver on the back. “If your babies can sleep through this racket, it's a really good sign!”

Chloe spotted Bruce, standing a few feet away, looking a bit confused and she took pity on him. “I'm sorry, Bruce. We swear, not all of our meetings are like this.”

He shook his head. “It's fine really, just---” he trailed off.

“What?” Oliver asked. “What's the matter?”

Bruce pointed at Clark, then at Chloe's stomach. “Is someone going to explain to me what he just did?”

*****  
 _Queen residence...outside Star City...early the following morning...  
_  
Bruce awoke early. He didn't require much sleep normally and, in a strange bed – one located on one of the Queens' many guest rooms, sleep did not come easily. He had planned to drive his rental car to the nearest hotel but Chloe thought that was a waste of time given all the space they had. Clark and Lois had flown back to Metropolis but the everyone else stayed the night. Bruce got the feeling that this was a regular weekend occurrence, given the ease with which everyone retired to certain rooms. 

The lack of his regular nightly workout had Bruce feeling antsy so he climbed out of bed, changed into workout shorts, a t-shirt, and running shoes. He might as well work off this energy in the home gym Oliver had showed him the night before.

Surprisingly given the early hour, Oliver was already down there when he entered the large room. He was pulling bottles of water out of the mini-fridge in the corner. 

“You working out?” Bruce asked.

“Yup. C'mon, let's see if you can beat my five mile time.” Oliver headed towards the French doors.

Bruce pointed to the expensive-looking treadmills in the room. “Something wrong with those?”

“Those are for rainy days. You're in California now, Bruce. Let's kill those vampire rumors once and for all and get you some sun.” He tossed a water bottle at Bruce, which he caught easily.

“Beating your five mile time shouldn't be hard. If I remember our track days, you run like a girl,” Bruce told him but Oliver didn't take the bait. “We the only ones up?” Bruce asked, as they left the house.

Oliver nodded. “Metas. All those superpowers and they're sleeping in. You and I are the mere mortals around here, you know.”

“What about your wife?” Bruce asked.

“Didn't you see the t-shirt?” 

Bruce shook his head. This was fast becoming the strangest trip he'd ever taken.

Five miles later, they called the race a draw. Bruce suspected that his endurance was better but Oliver had more experience running on sand and, given the sudden detour they took to the nearby beach, Oliver knew that. 

On the walk back the house, the questions started. “So, what do you think?” Oliver asked.

“I'm thinking a lot of things, it's a lot to take in.”

“So, just say what's on your mind. Stream of consciousnesses.”

“You still run like a girl.”

“Filter the stream a little.”

Bruce hesitated. “It's an interesting team. You all seem to get along well. Things look a little chaotic, though. Some more discipline would help.”

Oliver snorted. “You'd think the Marines needed more discipline.” He paused. “You're right, though. Things can get a little crazy during the meetings but we're better on missions. Sometimes we deal with some heavy shit so Chloe and I let them blow off steam where they can. It helps.”

Bruce thought about what Jim Gordon and Alfred had said to him before he left Gotham. “I can see that.”

“I'm going to be pulling back in a few months, when the babies come. Let Carter and J'onn take the lead for a while. I think that will help, too.”

“You're probably right.” Bruce replied. “What about the size of the team, is that going to change?”

“We've got our eyes on a couple of people we want to recruit.”

“Anyone I know?”

“C'mon, I'm not showing you any more of our cards until I know what your plans are, Bruce.”

Bruce frowned. “You of all people should know that I hate card metaphors.”

“Sorry.”

The walked in silence for a while. “You had concerns about my people before. Now that you've actually met them, what do you think?” Oliver asked.

Bruce decided to be frank. These people were clearly Oliver's friends as well as his colleagues but he should be able to handle some tough questions.  “The younger one, Bart. Can he focus on a task long enough to be useful?”

“Bart's been doing this almost as long as you have, Bruce. He's young and a little immature at times but we wouldn't be able to do what we do without his speed.”

“And Stone and Curry? They seem a bit young themselves.”

“Victor's very mature and he's got the makings of a good leader. He works well with Chloe. AC's a little idealistic but we need that sometimes. And they both know how to perform in a crisis, believe me.”

“What about the J'onnz and Hall, they actually take orders from you?”

“I handle them a little differently but yes, they do. Of course, I defer to them sometimes too. I'd be an idiot not to.”

“Who's in charge when you're not around?”

Oliver shrugged. “Depends on the mission. Victor and AC can lead in certain situations. Most of the time it's Carter, though.”

“What about Kent? Your wife gave me the rundown on his abilities. He's just about the strongest one here.”

“Doesn't mean he's a leader,” Oliver said sharply and Bruce raised his brows. Oliver paused for a drink before continuing. “I'm not saying anything I wouldn't say to his face. He's strong, and he's honest. He's just not always comfortable making the decisions we need to make. He's not looking to be in charge either. He's got enough on his plate without adding that.”

“Fair enough. What about Lance? How good of a fighter is she?”

Oliver laughed. “I'm going to do you a favor and  _not_ tell her that you asked that about her and not about the guys. That way she won't break both your legs.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. Politically incorrect or not, he thought it was a fair question. 

“Put it this way,” Oliver said. “She does missions on her own. Without backup. Hardly anyone else on the team does that. Dinah can handle herself. But if you'd like to give me an early birthday present, ask her yourself and make sure I'm around to watch how she reacts.”

Bruce ignored him and pressed on. “And Chloe, where does she fit in? She's not in the field, correct? Even before?”

“No. Chloe's our Watchtower.”

“I know that but what does that mean exactly? ”

“It means nothing happens without her.”

Bruce frowned. “Are you answering as her husband or as her teammate?”

“Teammate. But the answer would have been the same either way. Are you interested in what they think of you?”

“Not really but I get the feeling you're going to tell me anyway.”

“They think you're arrogant, wound up, and closed off. The phrase 'giant stick up his ass' may have come up.”

Bruce raised a brow. “Really?” he asked dryly.

“Multiple times.”

“Ahh, I see.”

“That said, they respect what you can do...as long as you respect what they can do. Remember what I said before. They didn't ask for these powers.”

“Right. So...did you all take a vote or something?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact, we did.”

“How many for and how many against?”

Oliver snorted. “You think I'm going to tell you that? You're still here so the 'nays' were outnumbered. Let's leave it at that.” Oliver turned towards the house. “You have any other questions? Observations?”

“You run like a girl and you nag like an old woman.”

 **End Chapter Three.**


	5. Chapter Four

End of the road for this story but not the series, at least not yet. There's still some fun to be had with this group of heroes. Thank you for the kind reviews. 

 **Chapter Four  
**  
 _Queen residence...outside Star City...later that morning...  
_  
After his shower, Oliver found Chloe in the kitchen, dressed for the day in a shorts and a halter style maternity blouse that left the top of her back and shoulders exposed. She was seated at the counter, already working on her laptop.

He leaned down to kiss her shoulder. “Good morning, how did you sleep?”

“Are you asking me or your children, who decided to have a soccer match around five a.m.?

“That answers that question.” He brought his hands around to rest on her stomach. “Are they awake now?”

He felt her shake her head. “No, I think they're sleeping. If they stick to the schedule they've been on for the last few days, the next show's at eleven. I'll come find you.”

He traced the couture of her stomach with his fingers for a while. “I should put together the other crib today, now that everyone else knows.”

“Let Carter help you. He's still mad that you guys put the first one together while he was in South America.”

“He's just going to stand there and tell me I'm doing it wrong,” Oliver grumbled against her neck.

“Which is exactly why he wants to help you.”

There was a faint tapping noise and they both looked up to see Bruce knocking on the doorframe.

“Can I interrupt long enough to get some coffee?”

Oliver straightened and nodded towards the machine that Chloe had filled and turned on out of habit, even though she couldn't drink any. He suspected that the smell comforted her. “Help yourself.”

“If you're hungry, breakfast should be here soon. I sent Bart out for bagels,” Chloe said in lieu of a greeting.

Oliver accepted the coffee cup that Bruce slid towards him. “Where'd you send him?”

“Brooklyn.”

Bruce looked impressed. “That's handy.”

“It's a morning jog for him,” Oliver explained.

Chloe pointed to her laptop. “Hey, look here. The  _Gotham Gazette_  website indicates that the city did not, in fact, collapse upon itself without you. What do you say to that, Bruce?”

“I'd say you're about as subtle as a Mack truck,” he replied and took a long sip of coffee. “OK, if I say I'm in, what next? Do I learn the secret handshake?”

“We skip the handshake and go straight for ownership of your immortal soul.” Chloe winked at him.

“Not a problem. Believe me, I had no immediate plans for it.”

“I assume you have your gear with you?” Oliver asked.

When Bruce nodded, Oliver smiled. “Good, tonight you work out in Star City with the team. Unlike  _some_ people, I'm not territorial. We'll work on communications and field tactics. You'll see, Batsy, well get you a check mark on the 'works well with others' column before you know it.”

“What do I need to do to get him to stop calling me that?” Bruce asked Chloe.

“If I had a magical way to turn off his nicknames, don't you think I would have used it by now?” Chloe asked, clearly not expecting an answer. “After breakfast, we need to find Victor so the three of us can discuss integrating the League's systems with whatever you have in that cave of yours. Including the car. I'm going to need to be able to talk to you, day or night.”

To Oliver's surprise, Bruce nodded at her. He was being pretty accommodating in all of this.

Bruce must have read his mind. “I just want you two to know, I'm not doing this because they asked me to leave Gotham for a while.”

“Right,” Chloe said, playing with the rim of her juice glass. 

“OK, it's not just because of that. I did tell you that I was open to doing this at some point.”

“Right,” Oliver repeated.

Bruce set down his coffee and placed his palms on the counter. “Fine, make fun of me but maybe you guys shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. You're about to have two more people to take care of, in addition to this little group of yours. You need all the help you can get. Especially with keeping order around here.”

Oliver looked at Chloe, their earlier conversation drifting back. He set down his coffee cup and started towards the kitchen door. “You make an excellent point. Come with me. We need to find Carter.”

Bruce followed, turning back briefly when Chloe snickered. “Where are we going?”

“Upstairs. We're going to work on your anger management issues. I hear they could use some serious improvement.”

“How?” Bruce's steps faltered, though Oliver noted he didn't deny the point about his anger issues.

“You and Big Bird are going to work on a little project for me. And play nice together doing it.”

“What kind of project?”

“Baby furniture. You survive this, you can survive anything.”

*****  
 _2033...Justice League Headquarters...Lower Lunar Orbit...Early Morning...  
_  
“You don't have to do this, you know. I can survive a few cuts a bruises.” Oliver told her, leaning against the dresser.

“So can I,” she replied pointedly.

Chloe touched her fingers to the cuts on his arm. Short bursts of light flashed and the cuts disappeared. Over the years, she'd learned to manage her healing power to minimize the impact on her own body so that minor wounds like these appeared only for a millisecond before fading. It didn't stop Oliver from wincing every time she healed him, though.

“You are, without a doubt, my worst patient,” she told him as she worked. “Twenty years, Ollie, and you have not been cooperative once.”

“That is not true. That Halloween you wore the nurse's outfit? I was pretty cooperative then. Hey, do you still have that?”

Chloe smiled and moved to remove the butterfly bandage from his face. “I stand corrected. You were very cooperative then.” She touched the cut under his eye and it faded. Then, so he wouldn't focus on the cut when it reappeared briefly on her face, she kissed the spot on his cheek, then kissed his mouth. “There,” she said, pulling back. “Good as new.”

Oliver wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, letting her rest her head on his shoulder, her hands on his chest. “Not quite shiny and new, but as long as you don't mind...”

Chloe made a noise in her throat. All joking about his ego aside, Oliver was still the sexist man she'd ever laid eyes on. No matter what age. She was about to tell him that when a tapping noise caught their attention and they turned.

Bruce, in his civilian clothing, was knocking on the frame of their open bedroom door. “Can I interrupt? Connor let me in,” he asked.

Chloe shook her head. “Of course, come in.”

Bruce slipped the rest of way into the room and leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. “Just when I thought you guys couldn't surprise me, anymore... You've been playing this one close to the vest for twenty years.”

“I thought you hated card metaphors?” Oliver said cautiously.

Bruce shrugged. “Sometimes they're appropriate.”

“Bruce...you know that if we could have told you, we would have,” Chloe said.

“I know. I do. And I'm not mad. A lot of it is making sense now. The ring...why you guys insisted that I hold the Legion ring.”

Chloe nodded and wiped her eyes. When they realized that Clark would not be able to use the Legion ring to go back in time and stop the dark magic that had killed Lois, the team decided that it would be best for someone else to hang onto the the ring so that Clark wouldn't be tempted in his grief to lose himself in the past. Chloe and Oliver had insisted that Bruce be the one to guard the ring. 

“We knew that it helped that you would have the it when the time came, but the fact is, you were still the best person to guard the ring, regardless of anything else.”

“I appreciate that. So...what else did you know?” Bruce asked.

“Nothing else.” Oliver insisted. “We only knew what you told us during the twenty hours we were here. We didn't even know about Olivia...or about a lot of other things.”

Bruce rubbed his face. “That's my fault. I should have told you more. I should have told you more about Lois, about Luthor...”

Oliver shook his head. “It wouldn't have helped. Things happened the way they were supposed to.”

“Oliver, you can't possibly know that for sure."

“You can't know for sure that I'm wrong so don't mess around with what ifs, it'll drive you crazy, believe me!” Oliver shot back. 

"What if I hadn't changed my mind when I did?...Or what if I hadn't said yes at all?”

“As much as I know that you guys live to argue with each other, this is not something we're ever going to be able to settle,” Chloe interjected. As she usually did.

Bruce nodded and his stance relaxed again, but he still didn't speak. He was working something out in his head, Chloe knew, and she stepped back to let him.

“I wasn't ready when you two came to Gotham the first time,” he said, and Chloe suspected he was saying it as much to himself as he was to them.

“We know that. That's why we left,” she told him, stealing a look at Oliver. “We knew we couldn't change your mind. So we waited. And when you were ready, you found us. Like Ollie said, it worked out the way it was supposed to.”

“I am still sorry for the way I treated you then. I was...blinded by my own self importance at the time. Stuck in my own head. There wasn't room for anything else, no matter how right it was.”

Oliver grinned. “While I don't disagree with the assessment, you've already apologized for that.”

“Did I?” Bruce relied, smiling faintly. “I keep losing track of which versions of you two I've apologized to.”

Chloe took Bruce's hand and tugged him towards the middle of the room where Oliver stood. “So stop, take it from us. You've covered it. No more apologies, no more debts. We're all even now.”

“That depends, do you two have any more inside information on the next ten or twenty years that you're not telling me about?”

“No, we're really even this time.” Chloe told him. “It's been a blank slate for us since we got back here last night.”

“I wish we did know more, it might help us track down our esteemed ex-President,” Oliver added.

“Guess we'll have to do things the hard way,” Bruce replied, with a shrug.

“In other words, business as usual.”

“You going to apologize for punching me?” Bruce asked suddenly. 

“Nope.”

“Ollie---” Chloe said in her warning tone that made their children – and most of the adults - freeze in the tracks.

“What! He deserved it. He even said so.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “ But that wasn't to you. That was to the other you...dammit!”

“Time travel's a bitch with pronouns, I've noticed,” Oliver said to Bruce as if confiding some important piece of human knowledge. 

"So I've gathered."

“You should still apologize!” Chloe exclaimed.

“You're the one who said we were even!”

“He's right, you did say just that,” Bruce pointed out.

“Who's side are you on?” Chloe asked turning to Bruce, placing her hands on her hips.

“Truth, Justice...and all that...or have we changed something?”

Too late she noticed that both men were trying very hard not to laugh. At her. And she sighed.

“Just...no more hitting each other. You want to hit something, let's go find that bald maniac who kidnapped us. He's long overdue for a beatdown.” Spotting the bruise on Bruce's mouth from where the younger Oliver had punched him, she reached up and touched it with her palm. After a flash of light, it vanished.

“There, all better. Can we work now?”

“No objections here,” Oliver said, leading Bruce out of the room. “We've got a meeting in thirty minutes. That enough time for you to get your pointy ears on, Batsy?”

“I don't think it would be a abuse of power for me to use the ring to go back in time and prevent you from ever thinking up with that damn nickname,” Chloe heard Bruce reply. 

“Sidekick, are you coming?” Oliver called.

“I'll be down in a few minutes,” she called back.

Chloe stepped over to her dresser to grab the data crystal she'd loaded earlier, containing the list of possible safe houses Lex might use to hide. At the meeting they'd need to divide up the list among the team members in order to track him down. One way or another, they needed to find him, once and for all.

She took a look at the row of photos on the dresser. The wedding from so long ago. The babies that were no longer babies. Oliver had been right, their League lives and their real lives were interconnected. There was no way to define where one ended and the other began. The last twenty years of the Justice League and the last twenty years of her life were the very same thing. The League and her family were the same thing. It was hard to believe that she had ever considered having a life that was separate from all this. 

She knew that Bruce had been rattled just now because he'd realized how close he'd come to actually doing just that. Having a life by himself, separate from the League. One that would have likely been lived alone, in his cave, instead the life he had built. That he was out in the station now, trading his usual verbal barbs with Oliver, told Chloe that he was OK again. Just like she was OK. Oliver and the kids, and the rest of their League family, they were all good. They were OK.

Except for Lois...and Clark. But Clark would be good again soon. Not the way he had been but he'd be OK. He had someone waiting for him to be ready again. Just like Oliver had waited for her, after Jimmy died. Chloe missed her cousin terribly but if she had learned nothing else in the past twenty years, she had learned that life had to move on. It just had to.

Time didn't fix everything but it fixed enough. Enough for all of them to enjoy the good things that were yet to come.

 **End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This was originally supposed to be the last story in the series, that's why the ending reads like it does, but then some things happened. I got inspired and the frigging characters started talking in my head again.


End file.
